Timeline Of Syrian Chemical Weapons Activity: 2012 – 2018

Medical sources say dozens of people were killed in an attack on the rebel-held town of Douma on Saturday, 7 April. The UN Security Council is expected to discuss the crisis on Monday. Both Syria and Russia deny a chemical attack took place and have reached an evacuation deal with the rebels. Outrage at the alleged use of chemical weapons has been widespread with Pope Francis saying, “Nothing, nothing can justify the use of such devices of extermination against defenceless people and populations.” The European Union has called for an “immediate response by the international community.”

One video, recorded by rescue workers known as the White Helmets, shows some men, women and children lying lifeless inside a house, many with foam at their mouths. Other unverified footage shows young children crying as they are treated in a makeshift medical unit. However, it has not been possible to verify independently what happened, or the actual number of dead. The Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations, which runs medical facilities in the Eastern Ghouta, told BBC News that 70 deaths had been confirmed. According to the US-based Syrian American Medical Society, at least 48 people died, showing “symptoms indicative of exposure to a chemical agent.” More than 500 people were brought to medical centres with such symptoms, it said, quoting emergency services in Douma. A doctor at an overwhelmed hospital in the rebel-controlled town told the BBC’s Joel Gunter he had panicked as his children coughed from gas seeping into the basement where they were hiding. Credit: The BBC, 9 April 2018.

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“[To the Church in Laodicea] “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and […]

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IC 59 and IC 63 in Cassiopeia. Image Credit & Copyright: Ken Crawford (Rancho Del Sol Obs). Looking toward the constellation Cassiopeia, the colourful skyscape features the swept back, comet-shaped clouds IC 59 (left) and IC 63. About 600 light-years distant, but they are slowly dissipating under the influence of ionizing ultraviolet radiation from hot, luminous star gamma Cas. Gamma Cas is physically located only 3 to 4 light-years from the nebulae, off the upper right edge of the frame. Slightly closer to gamma Cas, IC 63 is dominated by red H-alpha light emitted as the ionized hydrogen atoms with electrons. Farther from the star, IC 59 shows proportionally less H-alpha emission but more of the characteristic blue tint of dust reflected starlight.

Hours before the rise of the very star it will study, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe launched from Florida Sunday to begin its journey to the Sun, where it will undertake a landmark mission. The spacecraft will transmit its first science observations in December, beginning a revolution in our understanding of the star that makes life […]

Transforming the inhospitable Martian environment into a place astronauts could explore without life support is not possible without technology well beyond today’s capabilities.

The Human Brain

The attention span of the human brain is getting shorter. We have lost almost four seconds of our attention span in the past 15 years. This means we cannot concentrate on a thing for more than 8 seconds on an average.

Mangroves could well be our last line of defense against climate change. But they're under threat.

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Imago Dei

The Kayapo are an indigenous people in Brazil, from the plain islands of the Mato Grosso and Pará in Brazil, south of the Amazon Basin and along Rio Xingu and its tributaries. They call themselves "Mebengokre," which means "people of the wellspring." In 2010, there was an estimated 8,638 Kayapos. Subgroups include the Xikrin, Gorotire, Mekranoti and Metyktire. Their villages typically consist of a dozen huts.

Source: World Food Programme Country: occupied Palestinian territory The funds – channelled through ECHO – will allow about 210,000 extremely poor people to purchase the food of their choice for one and a half months, the agency said.JERUSALEM – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Palestine welcomed a contribution of €2.95 million (US$3.6 […]

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Country: China, India Fall Armyworm could threaten the food security and livelihoods of millions of small-scale farmers in Asia as the invasive crop-eating pest is highly likely to spread further from India.FAO offers its expertise to farmers and governments in Asia on best ways to manage […]

National Flag of the Mauritania

The flag of Mauritania is a green field containing a gold star and crescent, with a red stripe at the top and bottom of the field. It was adopted on 1 April 1959. Green is used to symbolise Islam, and the gold is for the sands of the Sahara desert. The two red stripes, which represent the efforts and sacrifices of the Mauritanians, the price of their blood to defend their country.

Exercise normal precautions in Burma. Some areas have increased risk. Read the entire Travel Advisory. Do not travel to: Maungdaw, Rathedaung, Ponnagyun, and Buthidaung townships in Rakhine State due to civil unrest. Paletwa township in Chin State due to civil unrest. Hpakan, Mansi, Momauk, Sumprabum, Tanai, and Waingmaw townships in Kachin State due to civil […]

Reconsider travel to Haiti due to crime and civil unrest. On July 9, 2018, the U.S. government authorized the voluntary departure of non-emergency U.S. government personnel and their families. Violent crime, such as armed robbery, is common. Protests, tire burning, and road blockages are frequent and often spontaneous. Local police may lack the resources to […]

Narsturtium

Latest update: Summary - addition of information; there have been an increased number of political protests, centred on the main government building in Bucharest, but also affecting other major cities in Romania; you should follow local media and avoid demonstrations or other large gatherings

Latest update: Travel advice for the territory of American Samoa will now be included in our travel advice page for the USA. This page will be removed from GOV.UK shortly. If you have subscribed to receive email alerts for American Samoa, you will no longer receive updates. If you wish to continue to receive updates […]

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Work of Art

Known as “the prehistoric Sistine Chapel,” the Lascaux Caves, a cave complex in southwestern France, contain some of the most remarkable palaeolithic cave paintings in the world, from at least 15,000 years ago. The cave was discovered on 12 September 1940 by four teenagers, Marcel Ravidat, Jacques Marsal, Georges Agnel, and Simon Coencas, as well as Ravidat’s dog, Robot. Public access was made easier after World War II. By 1955, the carbon dioxide produced by 1,200 visitors per day had visibly damaged the paintings. The cave was closed to the public in 1963 in order to preserve the art.

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If you lose face, your status falls and you aren't respected as much as you were.

Pray for Christians in India

FATHER AND SON BRUTALLY ATTACKED BY RADICALS. Click on image for more information.

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Creation is enthralling and mysterious, and the wisdom of God remains perennially unfathomable. To know Him is to barely understand His heart but to know myself, despite the many regrettable mistakes that have been made, is to understand the sufficiency of His grace, faithfulness, and lovingkindness. My enriching journey with Him took me through the halls of national service (the army), auditing, cross-cultural missionary service, church work, mentoring, psychology, and caregiving. Although now in retirement, I am still very much a learner at heart and an avid reader, and despite the smudges in life, I love it. Eternity then becomes a lifelong expectation. Zheluo Cai

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Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13: 4 - 8.